UK sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will end in 2030 – what does the science say?

On 18th November the government announced that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030. Academics from DecarboN8 analyse what this announcement means for decarbonising transport in the UK.

Kevin Anderson and Dan Calverley consider the announcement in relation to the pace and scale of transport decarbonisation implied by the UK’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and explain why this approach does not go far enough to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Monika Buscher and Nicola Spurling explore the continued growth of car-based mobility implied by the announcement, the alternatives that cars lock out, and how focusing on electrifying shared- and micro-mobility could deliver far more radical benefits for places, people, and the planet.

Hongjian Sun explains what will be required to prepare the UK’s energy system for a massive increase in EV charging and ensure renewable energy sources are used to charge EVs (so emissions are not merely displaced), arguing that smart charging and treating EV batteries as a shared resource could help to unlock the decarbonisation potential of EVs.

Finally, DecarboN8 Director, Greg Marsden, discusses what all this means for transport policy, and what the Department for Transport’s soon-to-be launched Transport Decarbonisation Plan must deliver to ensure the phase out of petrol and diesel cars and vans amounts to more than greenwash for UK transport.

If you have any questions about this analysis or would like to contact the authors for interview, please contact DecarboN8@leeds.ac.uk.